Parachute pack



pa`ck`. I 1 I As other objects of the invention will appear as "the description progressesit is thought that it Patented Aug. Z1, `1945 32,383,293 PARACHUTE PACK Lewis Dearstyne, Upper Darby, Pa., and Joseph J .f Rutkowsk, Trenton, N. J., assignors to Swit- I lik Parachute Company, Trenton, N. J., a partnership of New Jersey composed of Stanley Switlik, Walter `Switlik Richard Switlilr, and

.` Application November 3, 1943, Serial No. 508,1773

l l l "mplims 101.244.448)

Y This invention relates to aparachutepacliz.v 1

' An object of the invention resides in thenprovision of afpack wherein at least aportion of the wall of the container is resiliently flexible', transparent and preferably Water repellent A further object of the invention residesin the .provision of apack that includes a coverand a -I tray, wherein `the tray is resiliently exible and transparent and yet possesses sucient rigidity to maintain the remaining elements of the' pack in their proper positionsxwithin the container `and the container in its proper form. I v

A further object of the invention resides inso vconstructing a parachute pack that the flying personnel may fairly inspect the pack without vthe removal of the container. I Y I A` still further object of the invention resides in "so locating the packing data card and so constructinglthe container that it Will'be'impossible to make entries upon the packing data card withoutdisass'ernbling the pack and yet it will be possible to View `the card-Withoutdisassembling the is unnecessary to herepoint them out `in detail.

` In the drawingfin which thelinvention is i1- lustrated as embodied in` one type of pack Figure 1 is a perspective View of such apack;

Figure 2 is a sectiononline 2--2 of Figure 1;` and. i, f Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure l.

The pack illustrated includes the usual canopy l, to which the suspension lines 2 are attached, which suspension lines 2 are also attached to the lift Webs by means of the usual metallic fittings 4. In addition to the aboveelements the pack includes a flexible cover 5 which may be made of Water repellent fabric such as canvas, drill or the like. A tray E cooperateswith the cover 5 to enclose the remaining elements of the pack and the I two are held together, releasably, by a ripcord 1.

This tray 6 is made of a transparent, resiliently flexible plastic material such, for instance, as Lucite. Around the edge of the transparent'l material a frame 8 "is secured, which frame is also formed of a plastic material of such form and dimensions that the frame itself will `be substantially rigid. As disclosed in4 Figure 2 the frame is provided with a groove 9 in which the `edge of the cover 5 and the ripcord'l seat.

Along opposite edges of the tray, and on the inside surface thereof, pockets `Il! 'are formed. `These pockets are preferably formed from a contray` by separable fasteners `I I, the pockets being for the purpose of maintaining groups of suspension lines in position within the container when thepackisin its packed condition; p

`On the inner face ofthe tray 6 a pocket is formed by a flap I2 which is secured to the inner face of the tray. This pocketmay be of a transparent, translucent or opaque material but We prefer to make it of a transparent material., The pocket isadapted to receiveand support arpacking data ca'rd I3 on which, in accordance With to- `days practice, `the data pertainingto each successive packing of the chute is entered at the time of packing.

tentsthereof will tend `to force the closure I4 out- `It is, of course, the practice in building the parachute packs to so relate the bulk lof the canopy, suspension lines, lift` webs and attach- `me`r`1ts to the size of the container that when the former arepacked Within the latter pressure `.will

" be exerted on the former. We maintain this relationship in the pack of this application.

The tray is preferably ilat, that is to say, the transparent closure portion I4 `thereof lies substantially in a single plane whennot under stress. When, however, the container is packed the con-` Wardly because of the anchoring of the cover to f the `tray by ,the ripcord, with the resultthat the i l tinuous tape which is detachably secured to the closure which is anchored to the frame 8 willreact tc hold the contents of the container in place; thatisY to say it wil maintain the canopy properly folded,y the` suspension lines in their orderly bundled condition and in the pockets and will substantially prevent movement of these elements as well as the portions of the `lift Webs that lie within the container. Additionally the packing record card I3, which is placed on the inside of the container within the pockets I2, will be held in position and Will beprevented from becoming entangled with the suspension lines or obscured 1 thereby.

parachute and to determine to a great extent their condition and arrangement. Moreover,.`it insures the re-packing of the chute each time an entry is made upon the packing record card for the card is inaccessible to the packer until particular embodiment of our invention we do not Wish to be limited to the ydetails of construction except in so far as those details are included j in the claims.

What we claim is:

1. A parachute pack including a container consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines, and lift webs, the tray having a substantially rigid frame and a resiliently exible, transparent sheet of plastic material attached to and closing said frame.

2. In a parachute pack including a contianer consisting of a cover'and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and 4lift Webs, the tray `having a substantially rigid frame and a resiliently flexible, transparent sheet of plasticv material attached to and closing said frame, the frame having a ripcord receiving groove in the outer face thereof.

.3. In a parachute pack including a container consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and lift Webs, the tray having `a substantially rigid frame and a resiliently flex-v ible, transparent sheet of plastic material attached to and closing said frame, and a pocket for a packing data card on the inner face of said sheet of material.

4. In a parachute pack including a container consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and lift Webs, the tray being nor.

mally flat and formed of a transparent, resiliently flexible material.

5. In a parachute pack including a'container consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines andr lift Webs, the tray being normally flat and formed of a transparent, resiliently flexible material, and a pocket on `the inner surface of said tray for receiving a packing dataI card.

` 6. In a parachute pack including a container CFI consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and lift Webs, the tray having a substantially rigid frame, a normally flat sheet of resiliently flexible, substantially non-stretchable, transparent, plastic material attached to and closing said frame.`

7. In a parachute pack including a container `consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and lift webs, the tray having a substantially rigid frame, a normally iiat sheet of resiliently flexible, substantially non-stretchable, transparent, plastic material attached to and enclosing said frame, and a pocket on the inner face `of said sheet of material for receivinga packing data card.

8. In a parachute pack including a container consisting of a cover and a tray, a canopy, suspension lines and lift Webs, the improvement which includes making a portion of the container of a' sheet of transparent, resiliently exible, plastic material which is normally iiat, whereby the tendency of the sheet' of material to return `to its -flat condition when exed, Will assist in maintaining the canopy, suspension lines `and lift Webs in position Within the pack and the interior of the pack may be observed. f

9. In a parachute pack including a container consistin-g of a cover'and a tray, a canopy,"sus y pension lines and lift webs,gthe improvement which consists in constructing a portion of the pack of a transparent, resiliently flexible sheet of material, and in providing the interior surfaces of the sheet of material with a pocket for receiving a packing data cardV whereby access to the pocket is preventedexcept upon disassembly of the container. f

10. In a parachute `pack including a container comprising al bac-k and a cover, a canopy, suspension lines and' lift webs', the back including a normally iiat, transparent, resiliently flexible portion,;thesuspension lines and' lift Webs, when packed, lying against said back and partly adjacent said transparent resiliently flexible'porytion thereof said normally flat transparent, re-

siliently exible portion being constructed kand arranged to exert pressure upon the packed canopy and suspension lines to assist in maintaining 

